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6 Million PSPs Sold in '05?

A recent report by NPD Funworld claims that Sony has only sold around 2.5 million PSPs in North America since launch, but the company claims that they're a lot closer to meeting their 6 million unit goal by the end of the year.

With only a couple weeks left to go until 2006, how does Sony plan to double their numbers? Well, for one, their recent Urban Nomad campaign has been greeted with mixed opinions. Recently "real" graffiti artists became upset that Sony contracted artists to spraypaint ads on the sides of buildings and the TV commercials (also featuring similar stylistic tendencies) likely haven't been creating as much buzz as Sony had hoped.

Considering the iffy results of Sony's marketing, it may seem like dire straits for the PSP, but NPD Funworld doesn't take into account sales from some of the larger retail chains such as Wal-Mart, which could provide for as much as 2 million extra sales.

"We're mapping to that forecast ... We're very comfortable with where we are," Sony spokeswoman Molly Smith commented.

The company remains adamant that they will reach their goal and, although Sony has been known for its unfounded bravado in the past, it has also had an equal number of successes. The holiday season is, of course, the biggest sales period for the video game industry all year. We'll look for the real numbers as they come.